Charles P. Bates, born December 4, 1859, in Oneida County, New York, was a prominent lawyer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The son of Rev. Laban E. and Caroline Bates, he was raised on a farm and pursued education at Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in New York. After teaching and studying law, Bates moved to South Dakota in 1883, initially engaging in the hardware business in Ipswich. He resumed his legal studies in Sioux Falls and was admitted to the bar in 1887. Bates formed several legal partnerships, most notably with H. H. Keith and later with Ralph W. Parliman. Active in politics, Bates served as Sioux Falls city attorney and as state’s attorney, aligning with the Fusion party before returning to the Republican fold in 1902. He was also deeply involved in fraternal organizations, including the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. Bates married Grace Chester in 1891, and they had two sons, Chester Bronson and Lawrence Russell.
Charles P. Bates is a native of the old Empire state of the Union, having been born in Oneida County, New York, on the 4th of December, 1859, and being a son of Rev. Laban E. and Caroline (Bronson) Bates, his father having been a clergyman of the Congregational church, in whose ministry he served until the time of his death in 1896, his wife passing away in 1869. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, his father having been engaged in agricultural pursuits in addition to his ministerial labors, and after attending the public schools until he had completed the curriculum he continued his studies in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, New York. From the age of eighteen until that of twenty-three, he devoted a portion of his time to teaching and to the study of law in connection with his course in the seminary, having initiated his technical reading of the law in the city of Rochester.
In 1883 Mr. Bates came to what is now the state of South Dakota and located in Ipswich, Edmunds County, where he was identified with the hardware business for about two years. In March, 1885, he came to Sioux Falls and resumed the study of law in the office of H. H. Keith, being admitted to the bar in January, 1887, but continuing in the employ of his preceptor, Mr. Keith, until January, 1889, when they formed a partnership, under the title of Keith & Bates. This association continued until January, 1893, after which Mr. Bates was independently engaged in the practice of his profession until January, 1898, when he entered into partnership with P. J. Rogde, under the firm name of Bates & Rogde. On January 1, 1904, this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Bates formed a business alliance with Ralph W. Parliman, under the firm name of Bates & Parliman.
In May, 1894, Mr. Bates was appointed city attorney, being chosen as his own successor in the following year and thus remaining incumbent of the office until May, 1896. During the spirited campaign of 1894 he was chairman of the Republican central committee of Minnehaha County, marshaling his forces with consummate skill and discrimination and proving himself well qualified for leadership. After the nomination of William McKinley for the presidency in 1896 he identified himself with the silver wing of the party, receiving the nomination for state’s attorney on the Fusion ticket and being elected by a gratifying majority, the entire ticket being victorious in the county. In 1898 he was re-elected, serving as a tangible mark of the popular appreciation of his ability and his effective services as public prosecutor, and in the campaign of that year he was also chairman of the executive committee of the Fusion party in the county and had charge of the campaign in the county. In 1902 Mr. Bates renewed his allegiance to the Republican party and has since been an advocate of its principles. He is devoted to the work of his profession, giving a careful preparation to all his cases and presenting every cause with directness and with a full appreciation of the salient points involved, while his thorough knowledge of the basic principles, and the minutiae of the law, as well as of precedents, has gained him marked prestige as a trial lawyer and as a safe and conservative counsel.
Fraternally Mr. Bates is one of the prominent members of Granite Lodge, No. 18, Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the official chairs, and has frequently represented the lodge in the grand lodge of the state. He is also affiliated with Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is past exalted ruler, having also represented this organization in the grand lodge. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church, in which he was reared.
On the 5th of February, 1891, Mr. Bates was united in marriage to Miss Grace Chester, of Elmira, New York, and they are the parents of two sons, Chester Bronson and Lawrence Russell.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.